Pantheons of Paegor
The continent of Paegor contains many different races and cultures. When the Kezarine Empire unified much of the continent under one banner, part of the struggle of many emperors was keeping control over their citizens through the use of religion. As such, the vast majority of the continent conforms to the Faith, which follows the main pantheon of gods worshipped in the Kezarine Empire. The Kingdom of Essiria worships similar gods, although their pantheon replaces some of the gods of the Faith's pantheon with draconic entities. The Benevolent Gods of the Faith The pantheon of the faith consists of twenty deities, borrowed from various old world religions across the continent. Eleven of these are seen as benevolent and nine as malevolent. Avandra Avandra is the goddess of chance in the Kezarine Pantheon. She is seen as a chaotic but overall benevolent goddess, whose domain is trickery. Her symbol is that of three wavy lines over the top of one another. It is uncommon to find temples dedicated to this goddess in the empire, but they are not unheard of. Many adventurers pray to this goddess for luck in times of need, and many gamblers will whisper her name in hopes that they receive the right cards or the dice roll well. Bahamut Bahamut is the draconic god of justice. His sense of justice and obsession with the law is nothing short of legendary. He is seen as wholly benevolent, and his domains are those of life and of war. His symbol betrays his roots as being shared with the pantheons of the Kingdom of Essiria, as it depicts the head of a dragon looking westwards. Many large towns and cities have a small temple dedicated to Bahamut, often near to courthouses, where judges will prey for guidance before presiding over a trial. Judges are expected to swear a vow of allegiance to Bahamut when completing their training. It should also be noted that Bahamut is considered the god of honour as well, and it is believed he will punish those who break oaths sworn in his name. As such, many oaths are sworn as "by Bahamut's gaze". Corellon Corellon is a god appopriated from the elves of the land. He is the god of magic and of the arts in much of Paegor. His domain is that of light, and he is seen as a good, though unpredictable, god. As the patron of magic and the arts, he is worshipped and called upon not only by users of magic, but also artists, scultptors, archetects and actors as well. His symbol is the eight-pointed star. Almost every large town and city will have at least one shrine to Corellon, particularly in cities with gladitorial arenas, where the shrine will be attached to the arena for gladiators to pray to before taking up arms and entering the arena, in order to put on a good show. Disek Disek is the god of travellers, and was one of the primary deities amongst the nomadic armies of the first emperor, Kezra. He watches over those who journey over long distances, and it is believed he aligned the stars into constellations to allow travellers to navigate by night as well as day. His domains are those of light and life. His symbol is the four pointed star, with the uppermost point being longer, like a compass. Many sailors wear the mark of Disek around their neck, believing that he will help to guide them safely through the oceans and back home to their families. Most towns have a small shrine to Disek, usually on the outskirts, for travellers to pray at upon leaving a town, and leave an offering as thanks upon arrival at the next town. Erathis The goddess of wisdom and knowledge, Erathis is considered the mother of inventors and innovation. Her domain, as expected, is knowledge. She oversees changes in technology, as well as advancement of society. Her symbol is the gear, a perfect representation of what she means to the empire. Many centres of learning have shrines to the goddess, though she rarely has a temple to herself, it is much more common to find scholars praying at the smaller shrines attached to universities and schools across the empire. Kord Kord is the lord of strength and maker of storms. Though he is considered a benevolent god, it is purely due to his nature to not seek destruction or suffering upon the races of Paegor. His moods change quickly though, like the seas, and he can bring great storms to wreck fleets if one sailor says his name in vain. His domain is that of tempest. His mark is depicted as a sword with a lightning bolt hilt; many soldiers and warriors carry some form of his symbol on them, in the form of a tattoo or as a necklace, to try to draw from Kord's mighty strength. Temples and shrines to Kord are rare, though he will often be prayed to by sailors wishing to keep his mighty children at bay. Melora Like her brother, Kord, the goddess of nature and the wilds is not seen as a good god. It is her passive nature to civilisation that allows her to be considered a benevolent deity. She rules over the sees and all the beasts that live within it, as well as the wilds of the land and the beasts that walk over it. Many wood elves consider her to be their chief deity because of this. Her domains are those of nature and tempest, and her symbol is often depicted as three whirlpools. Outside of wood elf communities, prayer to Melora is rare, though many hunters and slayers pray to her to thank her for hunts, and ask for her forgiveness after hunting large prey. Moradin Moradin is considered to be the god of creation. It is believed he created all of the civilised races that walk the land, and the land they walk upon. His domains are those of knowledge and war, and his sygil is a great anvil that burns bright with flames. There are large temples dedicated to this god in many major cities across the continent, and his name is often invoked as a curse in disbelief or disgust in the form of such phrases as "By Moradin's Hammer". Pelor Pelor is one of the most worshipped deities across Paegor. As the god of the sun and of agriculture, he is seen as a truly benevolent being, who brings prosperity and life to all the races of Paegor. His domains are those of light and life and his symbol is a circle radiating with six points like sunbeams. Temples dedicated to Pelor are extremely common, particularly in rural communities and small towns where agriculture is considered a key part of life. Members of urban societies often tend to forget about the importance of Pelor's worship, and as such have begun to use his name in vain through curses such as "Oh for the love of Pelor" and "Pelor spits on you" the latter of which is considered a particularly vivid insult for a character of a shady nature. Ravena Often mischaracterised as a malevolent goddess, Ravena is the goddess of death. Many fear her, and as such, believe her to be evil. Though those who understand her role, realise she merely exists to carry out the job she was born for. Her role is to take the souls of the dead and the damned to the underworld, though after large scale events such as battles, she is often overrun with souls to care for, and relies on her clerics to find and escort those she missed. Temples and shrines to Ravena can be found in almost every settlement in one form or another, often close to graveyards, where family members can pray that Ravena cares for and escorts the deceased's soul away before it suffers for too long on the mortal plane. Sehanine The often overlooked younger sister of Pelor, Sehanine is the goddess of the moon. She lights the way for travellers and sailors at night, and controls the ebb and flow of water. Her beauty is said to be legendary, and as such, she is sometimes depicted as a symbol of love. Her domain is that of trickery, as she is as likely to light the path of a traveller as she is to leave it in complete darkness, should the mood take her. She is a virgin goddess, who has sworn an oath to never lay with another or marry, and as such young bachelors and bachelorettes pray to her for guidance, and to request some of her beauty. Several cities have temples dedicated to her, decorated with beautiful sculptures and art of the feminine form, and the moon. The Malevolent Gods of the Faith The pantheon of the faith consists of twenty deities, borrowed from various old world religions across the continent. Eleven of these are seen as benevolent and nine as malevolent. The malevolent gods are rarely openly worshipped across the empire, though some are considered patrons of some professions. Asmodeus Asmodeus is the lord of evil, and the god of tyranny. He is often depicted as sitting upon a throne and crushing mortals which hold it up. He wishes to rule over all of creation, and as such is not hellbent on the destruction of the mortal plan, only its domination. His domain is that of trickery, as he will often attempt to trick adventurers into selling their souls to him. His symbol is that of three triangles, in a tight claw-like formation. Bane The god of war is a fearsome beast. Although he does not wish to destroy the mortal races, he takes great pleasure in forcing them into wars with one another. Ancient myths say that he once kidnapped the lover of an ancient king, and forced her to fall in love with another king, to spark a hundred years of war between two the two kingdoms, until nothing remained but ash and smoke. His domain is that of war, and he seeks nothing more than to see the world in a perpetual state of battle. He will often attempt to sow discontent amongst a party of travellers, to make them turn on one another. Gruumsh The god of destruction. Gruumsh created the orcs in his own image, and set them the task of destroying all that stood in their way. In the early years, following creation, he was mocked by the other deities for creating a race so ugly and barbaric. He was mocked so viciously and incessantly that it drove him mad, he attempted to destroy what the others had created, and set out upon his path to destroy the mortal plane and all that lay upon it. Orcs are amongst the only beings who openly worship Gruumsh. Some members of the other mortal races also follow this malevolent god in the belief that he will grant them great power for their servitude. His domains are tempest and war. Lolth Lolth is the goddess of spiders and lies. She weaves tales like a web, and spreads them through the minds of mortals, creating absurd myths and attempting to drive wedges between people. Spiders are her children, and she is believed to listen to the conversations of the high and mighty in society through their ears in cracks of brick and hidden in the corners of rooms, from these whispers she corrupts the truth into lies, spinning it to the world through her followers. Her domain is that of trickery. Some criminals follow Lolth's teachings, particularly conmen and other blaggards who cheat and swindle people out of possessions and wealth. Tharizdun Tharizdun was once the brother of Moradin, who assisted in the creation of the mortal plane and the races there. It was later however that he was corrupted through seeing Gruumsh turned mad with rage. Lolth whispered lies in his ears about the other gods, and eventually he fell to madness himself. The god of madness thrives on trickery and war, but not in the way Bane does. Tharizdun would see two armies march upon each other and commit mindless slaughter not for entertainment, but because he can. Tharizdun is feared by many mortals due to his unpredictable nature, and as such his name is rarely spoken if at all, for fear of drawing his attention. Torog Little is known of the great god of the Underdark. Very few surface dwellers have made it back from the place to speak of him. The beings that live below the ground worship him as some kind of hero god, and many believe that he is their representation of Moradin. His domain is that of death. On the surface of Paegor, his worship is practically non-existent, but travelling beneath the surface wields a vastly different story. Vecna God of evil and of secrets, Vecna is often regarded with contempt by mortals. He poisons the hearts of noble men, and steals their goodness from within them, corrupting them entirely. An avid collector of secrets, his knowledge is said to rival that of even Erathis. His domains are death and knowledge. Like Tharizdun, many mortals are afraid to speak his name, for fear of what his gaze might do to them, should they draw it. Unlike Tharizdun, however, there are secret cults hidden across the continent dedicated to his worship. Zehir God of darkness, poisons and revenge, Zehir is the patron of assassins and those who hunt from the dark. He is considered to be the father of many poisonous and venomous monsters. His gaze falls upon those who feel they have been wronged, and he often eggs them on to seek revenge, posing as a little voice in the back of their mind, urging them to commit foul deeds. His domains are trickery and death.